July News from the Garden
Hi Everyone,
Don't worry, you're not running late, the SJG newsletter is running early (for once!) and we're getting ahead of the month as there's lots going on...
Poetry in the Park - Summer Solstice Edition
Up First...
Big thanks to Sunday and her team of enthusiastic poetry performers for producing an exquisite Poetry in the Park: Summer Solstice Edition. It was a very chilled occasion - except for the warm, balmy evening - and a really relaxed way to connect with nature and neighbours on a sunny summer solstice evening. Big thanks also to Analisa for organizing Qi Gong sessions in the garden throughout the month of June: we've been lucky with the weather and Monday mornings have been a restorative mix of mindful movement and breathwork in the dappled morning light. We've really made the most of the good weather in recent weeks and the plants in the newly-installed Edible Forest and Butterfly Garden are LOVING the sunshine - as are the butterflies (read on for Susanna's update on pollinator counts in the garden!) Which leads us to extending a whopping thanks to the watering squad who have been keeping the new plants alive over the last few weeks. Without their ongoing work in the cool early mornings and evenings the garden would be a dust bowl by now rather than the lush green oasis we are all enjoying during the heatwave. THANK YOU ALL! If anyone else would like to take a turn with the hose and keep cool in the heat drop us a line at stjohnsgarden.ec1@gmail.com and we'll add you to the Garden Care group
Up Next...
London in Bloom Judges will be here in the next 24 hours
If you're around tomorrow morning (Tuesday) 10am-11am do come over to the garden to help with a last-minute tidy up: all hands are welcome and even if it's a 10 minute break between MS Teams calls, everyone's efforts add up to a cleaner, greener, more welcoming park
#ClerkenwellPollinatorPath is buzzing! As part of our commitment to restoring nature in the neighbourhood and connecting with all the other amazing green spaces in our area, St John's Garden is working with ecological charity Pollinating London Together to coordinate pollinator ecologist surveys across 15 green spaces in Clerkenwell. As part of the project, Head Gardener Justin at Charterhouse has very kindly offered us an exclusive tour of Charterhouse Gardens, where we will be oohing and ahhing at the butterflies as well as learning how we can all contribute to the data by conducting ten minute Flower-Insect-Timed pollinator counts (FIT-Counts) in our gardens and green spaces. The tour is happening on Tuesday 15th July at 2.30-4pm at The Charterhouse and numbers are strictly limited so do book your place as soon as you get a chance on eventbrite here.
We're extremely lucky that Islington Tour Guide Fran will be leading another Guided Walk for us - this time round the Storied Streets of Literary Clerkenwell on Saturday 26th July, 10am-11am. We'll be meeting by the Welcome Board in SJG. Please RSVP to stjohnsgarden.ec1@gmail.com if you'd like to book your FREE place on the tour.
Upcoming visits...
Following the success of the SJG Compost Collective, we're off to Mildmay Community Food Project for a two-part composting workshop in their community market garden, to explore the potential for expanding our composting operations! The hands-on workshops - hosted exclusively for SJG - are free of charge and will take place on August 4th & 5th, 5.30-7.30pm. If you'd like to join the sessions, mail us at stjohnsgarden.ec1@gmail.com :)
'Tis the season for garden tours and there'll be lots of visitors to St John's Garden over the coming weeks: Islington Friends of Parks Network are coming from across the borough for a tour of SJG this Wednesday evening and several companies are bringing volunteers to clean and green the park over the summer months. It's such a pleasure to be able to reveal the garden's hidden histories to new visitors and share our hopes for its future as a wildlife haven and peaceful oasis at the centre of London and the heart of our community